Chain and sprocket change

[Guest]

My 1980 GS550E has its original chain and sprockets on so I figured its time to give them a change. According to this chart http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...uki_Specs.html my bike already has a 530 chain and a 15/50 front/rear sprocket. I want to increase the gear ratio a bit for better low end acceleration. Would you recommend I decrease the front sprocket teeth or increase the rear sprocket? Also if I make this change how do I know how long of a chain to order. I've read that a few people have had to remove the swing-arm in order to replace their stock chain, would that be the case for me?
Thanks for the help,
Nick

[Nessism]

It's better to move to a larger sprocket in the rear since that puts less stress on the chain. I'd limit the change to two teeth otherwise the engine will be screaming even more than normal when the bike is on the highway. Not sure about the chain but you might want to increase the link count by one or two. You can always adjust length during fitment. Endless drive chains are quite rare these days so you shouldn't have to remove the swingarm. Doing anyway provides you with a good opportunity to grease the swing arm bearings though so consider that if you want to do a proper maintenance job.

[ndimitri48]

Hey Ed,
I'm in the process of doing this job and I've ran into some troubles removing the swingarm. I was able to remove the large pivot shaft with ease by using a punch to influence it out. However now I cannot get the swing arm itself out of place. It seems like there is a spacer or something keeping it in place. Is there something else I need to remove in order to get the swingarm out? This may be a complete newbie mistake but that's how we learn right.
Thanks,
Nick

[tkent02]

I'd limit the change to two teeth otherwise the engine will be screaming even more than normal when the bike is on the highway.

Two teeth on the back is a four percent ratio change, no big deal. The RPM that used to go 100mph will now go 96. Barely noticeable. It's a 550, it's supposed to scream on the highway. And everywhere else for that matter. Also going smaller on the front is only hard on chains if you get down to around 12 - 13 teeth, and usually you can do it without changing chains. Try this, change ratios using old used sprockets to find a ratio you like. Your bike, your roads, your riding. Test several combinations. Find out what's the best for you. Then buy new 520 chain and sprockets in this ratio. Doing this on my 450, think I'm going with two teeth smaller on the front, so about a 15% change. Going from 16 to 15 helped, but not enough. It should be a lot better to ride everywhere with the 14. I used to cruise in fifth because sixth was too tall, useless gear really. But I like to wind things out.

Anyone have an old 14 tooth 530 front sprocket I can use for a little testing?